Since the program began in September 1999, OIT has opened three rounds of solicitations and has made awards to 13 companies to conduct plant-wide assessments. These companies represent industries, such as aluminum, chemicals, glass, forest products, and petroleum refining—all within the scope of OIT's Industries of the Future initiative.
Among the recipients of the plant-wide assessment awards is aluminum casting manufacturer AMCAST of Wapakoneta, Ohio. One of the original seven companies to receive the cost-shared funding from OIT, AMCAST recently completed its assessment and moved quickly to implement improvements that could yield impressive savings of $3.6 million annually.
AMCAST's primary products are aluminum permanent mold castings for the automotive industry, but the company also serves the construction and other industrial sectors. The company employs 300 people at this plant and processes 15-20 million pounds of aluminum annually at the Wapakoneta site.
To make its products, AMCAST begins with aluminum ingots, which are melted in natural-gas-fired reverb furnaces. Melted aluminum is transferred to the hold furnaces adjacent to each low-pressure permanent mold machine via electrically heated ladles. After casting, flash and scrap parts are sent back to a Jet-melt furnace. Cast products are trimmed, inspected, heat treated, and aged in ovens. Primary waste streams include aluminum dross, recyclable aluminum flash, deburring material, metal shavings, and cooling wastes.
AMCAST is the first to use the low-pressure, permanent mold casting process to produce high-volume, aluminum suspension components for the auto industry. The company set out to identify ways to cost-effectively reduce waste, energy, and operating costs, and the plant-wide assessment award supported this effort. The company teamed with the University of Dayton Energy Efficiency Office and the Edison Materials Technology Center, of Dayton, Ohio; Midwest Building Diagnostics (formerly Miami Valley Diagnostics), of Xenia, Ohio; and CSGI of Rockville, Maryland. The team identified areas of improvement in AMCAST's operation, and generated ideas that could help other casting-related industries.
Path to Improved Efficiency
The assessment team's first step was to gain an understanding of the total cost of energy in the AMCAST facility. Utility costs as well as ongoing maintenance, capital investments, material, and labor associated with energy systems were also considered. By monitoring the operation's energy use, from the transformer and switches to production lines, the team identified opportunities to improve reliability, increase efficiency, and reduce total cost of energy.
Initially, the focus was on identifying and minimizing end-use loads. Next, the distribution system was examined for savings opportunities, then the primary driver. In most cases, the end-use and distribution system savings directly influence the recommendation for modifying the energy source.
Sources of Savings
Based on previous assessments of metal casting facilities and the information provided by AMCAST, the team noted potential savings and improvements throughout the plant in electrical, lighting, motor drive, compressed air, and process heating systems. By implementing these efficiency measures, the company expects to save $600,000 annually.
The assessment confirmed that the most significant improvements are in the manufacturing process. Approximately 90%, or about $3 million, of the total projected savings are process-related. As a result of material modifications to process equipment (riser tubes, glow bars, and others), AM CAST has realized reductions in maintenance, scrap, downtime, and has improved product quality.
The prospect of saving $3.6 million annually has led AMCAST to act immediately on the process improvements and other efficiency measures identified in the assessment. Of the 13 programs identified, four are underway and one is complete. For its $1 million investment on these improvements, AMCAST anticipates a simple payback of just 3 months. In addition, the company stands to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 11 million pounds per year.
Opportunity Captured
For AMCAST, this plant-wide assessment highlights the synergy of process performance and its impact on overall energy and cost savings. It also demonstrates the need to consider all other factors that affect performance and costs.
AMCAST has taken the opportunity to explore potential improvements, and is now implementing programs to capture substantial savings. In turn, other casting companies have the opportunity to share in the findings at AMCAST and perhaps capture similar results.
"The opportunity, guidance, and encouragement from OIT to help foster teamwork has helped overcome the 'not-invented-here' syndrome and has made the assessment a glowing success." explains James R. Van Wert, Jr., AMCAST's vice president of technology.
本文转自：China Industry News